Kentucky Derby 2018 Post Positions: Horses, Jockeys with Best, Worst Race Odds
Most of the attention in the days leading up to the 2018 Kentucky Derby is centered around a few favorites attempting to go down in history.
Of the 20 horses scheduled to compete in the first leg of the Triple Crown Saturday at Churchill Downs, five of them have odds better than 10-1.
While Justify, Mendelssohn and the rest of the favored horses are the talk of the town, there are 15 other competitors vying to be in the conversation by the time the race concludes.
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Although it's unlikely a horse with terrible odds wins the Kentucky Derby, it has been done before, with Giacomo most notably winning in 2005 at 50-1.
Post Positions and Odds (Odds via OddsShark)
1. Firenze Fire (+6600; Bet $100 to win $6,600)
2. Free Drop Billy (+3300)
3. Promises Fulfilled (+4000)
4. Flameaway (+4000)
5. Audible (+550)
6. Good Magic (+900)
7. Justify (+350)
8. Lone Sailor (+5000)
9. Hofburg (+1600)
10. My Boy Jack (+2200)
11. Bolt d'Oro (+900)
12. Enticed (+2500)
13. Bravazo (+5000)
14. Mendelssohn (+400)
15. Instilled Regard (+5000)
16. Magnum Moon (+700)
17. Solomini (+2000)
18. Vino Rosso (+1400)
19. Noble Indy (+2800)
20. Combatant (+6600)
Best Odds
Justify (Jockey: Mike Smith)
By the time the race begins Saturday afternoon, you'll learn more about Justify that you want to know.
The horse trained by Bob Baffert is the talk of Churchill Downs, and many will choose him to win the 144th Kentucky Derby.
Justify comes into Saturday off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby as an overwhelming favorite in a race that included three Kentucky Derby horses, including Bolt d'Oro, who has +900 odds to win.
Jockey Mike Smith owns four victories in Triple Crown races, with his lone Kentucky Derby championship in 2005 aboard Giacomo.
The latest triumph for the 52-year-old American came at the 2017 Dubai World Cup, where he won on top of Arrogate, who was also trained by Baffert.
Smith has one of the best resumes of any jockey in the business, and he has a strong history with Baffert, who is looking for his fifth Kentucky Derby victory.
Mendelssohn (Jockey: Ryan Moore)
Irish-bred Mendelssohn carries the second-best odds at the moment, but the deck could be stacked against him since no foreign-born horses have won the Kentucky Derby.
Most of Mendelssohn's success came overseas, including wins in the UAE Derby and Patton Stakes in recent months.
Although he's facing the Kentucky Derby curse against international horses, Mendelssohn proved he can achieve success on American soil at the 2017 Breeders Cup juvenile turf.
Englishman Ryan Moore experienced most of his success across the pond, but he has a handful of wins at the Breeders Cup as well.
Moore owns over 2,000 victories in Great Britain, and he's worked with trainer Aidan O'Brien for quite some time, but the one thing he's still looking for in his career is a win at a Triple Crown race.
Worst Odds
Firenze Fire (Jockey: Paco Lopez)
Firenze Fire is one of two horses listed at +6,600 and there's a decent chance we might not hear about him all week.
The horse starting from post No. 1 has two victories in his career, with the last one coming in January at Aqueduct.
Firenze Fire burst onto the scene with a victory in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park in October in a race where he had 11-1 odds.
In January, the horse trained by Jason Servis took the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct as the favorite, but he's trended downward ever since.
A second-place finish in February's Withers Stakes and a pair of fourth places at the Gotham Stakes and Wood Memorial set Firenze Fire's odds so high.
Firenze Fire's jockey, Paco Lopez, isn't as accomplished as the others in the field, which could be a disadvantage if the going gets tough.
Combatant (Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.)
Not only does Combatant have the worst odds in the field, he has a terrible starting position out of post No. 20.
Given the combination of his starting spot and recent results, which are nothing to write home about, Combatant should be easily forgotten when it comes to selecting the horses capable of making you the most profits.
Combatant was consistent in December and January with three consecutive second-place finishes, but since then a third at the Rebel Stakes and fourth at the Arkansas Derby have turned people away from the horse's Kentucky Derby potential.
If there is anything going for Combatant and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. at the moment, it's the past success trainer Steve Asmussen had in Triple Crown races.
Asmussen has two Preakness Stakes wins to his name from Curlin in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009, and Creator took home the 2016 Belmont Stakes.
Although Asmussen doesn't have a Kentucky Derby win, he trained a pair of horses that won the Kentucky Oaks.
Before Santana mounts on top of Combatant Saturday, he'll take charge of another underdog in the Kentucky Oaks, as he is scheduled to ride Patrona Margarita, who enters Friday's race as a steep underdog.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from KentuckyDerby.com.
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